Plug tobacco seaper



(No Model.) z 'sheets-sheet 1. C. 'D. SOURS.

.PLUG TOBACCO SHAPBR, l No.48f6-,30f2- l Patented 1\Imr.`15,.18 .a2 .4

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

CHARLES D. SOURS, OF MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TONAT. R. MORRIS AND JAMES H. SPENCER, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

PLUG-TOBACCO SHAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,302, dated'November15, 1892.

Application filed July 9, 1890. Serial No.- 358,178. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES D. SOURs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Martinsville, in the county of Henry and State of Virginia,have invented new and useful Improvements in Plug-Tobacco Shapers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In plug-tobacco shapers a mold-frame having cells corresponding in formto the shape Io of the plugs desired is placed on a-plane-sur facedbacking or base-plate,and-into the cells at a point opposite thebase-plate are inserted the sinkers, secured to the usual sinker-platefor pressing the tobacco contained in the cells into plugs between thebase-plate andthe inner ends of the sinkers-as, for example, in LettersPatent No. 73,354, issued January 4, 1868. In this type of plug-Shaperssome of the tobacco will be pressed out between the zo adjacent surfaceof the base-plate and the lower end walls of the cells, in consequenceof which itis essential to trim the plugs after they are shaped, whichresults in a serious loss of tobacco, in addition to which the time andlabor required for trimming is expensive,

while the plugs are not all produced of uniform size and exactly true atthe edges.

In the manufacture of plug-tobacco in the manner described it isdesirable to employ 3o a set of twelve (more or less) mold-frames andtheir concomitants, which vare placed in the press to simultaneouslyshape and produce a large number of plugs; but in the prior constructionif the mold-frames are arranged in a set some of the tobacco passes outat the lower edges of all the cells, as before stated, and for thisreason the prior construction is very objectionable.

Tho present invent-ion has for its object to avoid the objectionsmentioned; to provide a novel sinker-frame having sinkers on bothsurfaces, those on one surface being thicker than those on the oppositesurface, whereby the sinkers project into the cells of the moldframesfor producing plugs exact and truein shape and size; to provide novelmeans whereby a sinker-plate for pressing tobacco in one mold-frame alsosubserves the function of preventing the passage of tobacco from the olower ends of the cells in a mold-frame placed above and restingthereupon, and, finally, to

improve the construct-ion of plug'tobacco Shapers, whereby the tobaccois prevented from being pressed out at the ends of the cells, the lossof tobacco is avoided, more accurate work is produced with less laborand expense, racking or sliding of the mold-frames is avoided, and plugsare produced of uniform size and shape. To accomplish all these objects,my invention involves the features of 6o construction and thecombination or arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed,reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 isa perspective View of an upper 65 sinker-frame constructed in accordancewith' my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of themold-frames with its cells. Fig. 3 j is a perspective View of a lowersinker-frame. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of a se- 7c ries ofthe sinker-fram'es and mold-frame arranged in proper relation to formtobacco' plugs, and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional View of the same.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, I will now describe the same in detail, referring to thedrawings, wherein* The numeral 1 indicates a cell mold-frame constructedof longitudinal and transverse 8o strips 2 and 3, so connected andorganized as to provide a series of cells 4 ofuniform shape and size.The sinker-frame is composed of a rectangular plate 5, having at eachlongitudinal edge a rectilinear bar 6, extended at each endinto a handle7,-which flanges or bars serve to receive between them one of themold-frames, while the handles serve to manipulate the sinker-frames.

The sinker-frame is provided with a series 9o height of a stack of thesinker and mold frames. Those on the opposite. surface, in other wordsthe sinkers 8, are of greatly-reduced thickness as compared with thesinkers 9. The thinnest sinkers 8 correspond in number with the thickestsinkers 9, and all the sinkers on each sinker-frarne are 'coextensive inlength and breadth in order to accurately tit the cells of two adjacentmoldframes, and in practice the sinkers` 9 enter the cells of a lowermold-frame and the sinkers 8 enter the cells of an upper mold-frame,

thesuperimposedarrangementof mold-frames and sinker-frames being clearlyshown 1n 1 on both surfaces a series of sinkers, those on Figs. 4 and 5.

The tobacco to be shaped into plugs occupies the cells between theadjacent faces of the sinkers on an upper and a lower sinkerframe, andwhen a set of the mold-frames is placed in the press to effect thepressing operation the thinnest sinkers accurately fill up the lowerends of the cells and eectually prevent any tobacco from being pressedout at such points, while the thickest sinkers follow up the tobacco inthe cells of the moldframes until the tobacco is properly `compactedinto the form of plugs desired.

In the construction described and shown the upper and lower vedges ofthe cells in the mold-frame are locked against movement by abutmentagainst the edges of the sinkers on the sinker-frames, `while thelongitudinal strips 3 of the mold-frames 'are located between and bearagainst the rectilinear side bars 6 of the sinker-frames, wherebyracking of all fthe frames is prevented, or, in other words, themold-frf-unes` and si-nker-frames cannot slide one upon the other, butlare all held in correct relation throughout the series.

I have exhibited each sinker frame as formed integral with its thi-nVand thick sinkers; but I do not confine myself to this particularconstruction.

`By 'my invention I avoid the necessity of trimming the `plugs after thesinker operation and` produce nice and accurate work withcomparatively-little labor and expense, while the engagement of `thesinker-frames and mold-frames with each other, tolavoid racking,

renders such frames durable and efficient in practice. The constructionalso prevents the mold-frames and the pressing-frames from being set upuntruly and causes the plugs to be prized up in the center of the cellsand not at the edges thereof. The sinker-frames and -the ginold-fram'esmay be arranged in a set of twelve,inore or less, and thus a largenumber of tobacco-plugs can be simultaneously produced without loss oftobacco or subsequent trimmi'ng of the plugs.

Vhat I claim isl. 4The combination, in a plug-tobaccoshap ing apparatus,of sinker-frarnes each having one surface being thicker than those onthe opposite surface and each series of sinkers separated from eachother to provide longitudinal `and transverse spaces, with the `cellmoldframes composed of longitudinal and transverse strips and interposedalternately between the sinker-frames, so that the sinkers on onesurface 4of a sinker-frame project into the cells of one mold-framewhile the sinkers on the opposite surface project into the cells ofanothermold-frame, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a plug-tobacco-shaping apparatus, ofsinker-frames each having upwardly-projecting side bars and provided onboth surfaces with a series Iof sinkers, those on one surface beingthicker than those on the opposite surface and each series of sinkersseparated from each `other to provide intervening longitudinal 'andtransverse spaces, with the cell mold-frames composed of longitudinaland transverse strips and interposed alternately between thesinkerframes, said `cell mold-frames having their outer 'longitudinalstrips located betweenand bearing `against 'the upwardly-projecting sidebars on 'the siriker-frames, substantially as described.

In testimony vwhereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

Y CHARLES D. SOURS Witnesses:

R. L. LEWIS, F. R. BROWN.

